NHS chiefs: relax border to let doctors in

Hospitals said that officials were rejecting doctors who did not work in specialisms with particular shortagesMonkey Business Images/REX/Shutterstock

NHS bosses are urging ministers to relax immigration rules for doctors, warning that hospitals are struggling to bring in vital staff from overseas.

Doctors offered NHS jobs have been blocked from coming to Britain because quotas for skilled worker visas were filled for the past two months. Hospitals said that officials were rejecting doctors who did not work in specialisms with particular shortages or earn at least £55,000 a year.

Nurses were placed on an emergency shortage occupation list in 2015 after similar pressure from NHS leaders who warned of safety risks on wards because staff from overseas were not allowed in. While all nurses remain on the list, only doctors such as A&E specialists and old-age psychiatrists are given priority.